SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The first few voters at a Shaker Heights precinct received ballots that were missing the presidential race, CNN reported.

"The first four voters were given the wrong ballots. Those ballots were voided, and the four voters were given the correct ballots," said Kimberly Bartlett, a spokeswoman for the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.

Bartlett said she didn't know how the error occurred. "I can only assume they were given only part of the ballot -- the second page of the two-page ballot with only state issues. The first page has the presidential race."

Philip Cook said he was one of those four voters. He said the presidential ballots were at the voting place but had not been put into the correct folders before the polls opened.

Long Lines

Long lines but few major problems greeted voters Tuesday in Ohio, where a record 80 percent turnout is possible in a swing state that had presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama running neck and neck.

Lines began forming outside polling places more than an hour before the polls opened at 6:30 a.m.

But polls around the state opened on time and there were no reports of major problems, said Jeff Ortega, a spokesman for Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, who oversees elections in the state.

A handful of voting machines malfunctioned in Fairfield County, southeast of Columbus, and the wrong paper ballots were delivered to two precincts, said elections director Debbie Henderly.

"Everybody's back to normal, now, I think," she said. "As normal as anybody can be for this day."

Officials in Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, said thousands of people took advantage of early voting, reducing the number of Election Day voters to manageable levels.

The county has a history of voting problems, including long lines and lengthy vote counts, but the early going Tuesday was smooth, said elections director Jane Platten. Problems with fewer than 25 vote scanners were quickly fixed, she said.

Shanna Sheline, 30, a dance instructor and office assistant from Cleveland, said she wasn't taking any chances. She got in line at 6:30 a.m. and set aside the whole day to vote in case she encountered long lines or other problems.

In Westlake, an upscale suburb west of Cleveland, there appeared to be confusion among voters, some of whom were seeing for the first time the return of old-fashioned paper ballots that replaced touch-screen voting machines used for the March primary.

Voters at the Church on the Rise in Westlake had a lot of questions about the paper ballots, according to Bob Mihocik, 59, who voted along with his wife, Jackie, and son, Dave, 26.

The paper ballots require voters to choose a candidate by filling in an oval. After finishing, the ballot is scanned to alert the voter to disqualifying duplicate votes -- like voting for both McCain and Obama. If that happens, the voter can ask for a replacement ballot.

The opportunity to correct voter errors was a key reason the touch-screen voting machines were dumped in favor of traditional paper ballots, which are lengthy in Cuyahoga County and require more handling.

Cuyahoga County is one of 35 Ohio counties where voters cast ballots on paper. The other 53 counties use touch-screen machines.

There was early evidence that poll workers would have their hands full with a big turnout. "We had a line out the door before we opened the poll," said Bud Tetzlaff, a poll worker at the Church on the Rise. He estimated there were 50 people waiting in line in the first hour of voting and it was taking people 10 to 15 minutes to vote.

Long lines were expected despite about 1.5 million people taking advantage of early voting. Court action was anticipated to keep polls open late in places like Cleveland, the seat of a county that has been plagued by past elections problems.

Across the state, lawyers were standing by to contest yet-uncounted votes. Both Republican and Democratic lawyers were at the ready to file lawsuits over any perceived illegal activity.

Likewise, volunteers from both campaigns were set to stand near polling locations to hear complaints, and independent advocacy groups vowed to monitor any irregularities.

Four years ago, the presidential race hinged on Ohio and many activists questioned the results. Democrat John Kerry narrowly lost the state's 20 electoral votes, putting President George W. Bush over the top in the electoral count.

Bush won by about 118,000 votes out of more than 5.5 million cast in Ohio. Kerry conceded the day after the election, convinced he would not receive enough votes when provisional ballots were counted.

Ohio made changes this year, including putting more voting machines in precincts that are expected to be the busiest. Franklin County has about twice as many touch-screen voting machines this year as it did in 2004.